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SR 520: Comments due April 15

Got an opinion about SR 520? Who doesn’t! For those with especially strong feelings, next month is a big month. April 15th is your last day to submit comments on the SR 520 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) published in January.

Comments submitted by the deadline will be addressed in the final Environmental Impact Statement due out from WSDOT before construction can begin.

Take a look
Here’s the complete SDEIS. Admittedly a rather daunting read, but organized into somewhat manageable chunks.

The site also lists libraries where you’ll find the printed version and gives the e-mail and U.S. mail addresses where you may send comments.

Pick your battles
Because the SDEIS is huge, I doubt anyone with a life (or sanity) could comment on every aspect that might be important. My advice: pick your battles.

A few tips from consultants who work frequently with such documents may also be useful. 1. Be specific. Cite the SDEIS page number where the information you comment about is found. 2. Look for what’s missing. Criticisms should identify errors and inconsistencies, but can also point out considerations, analyses or data that should have been included but weren’t. For example, if traffic studies were done for peak traffic hours only, you might give reasons why studies of traffic at other times should have been included. The processes used to arrive at conclusions–for example, from community input–are also fair game.3. Attach or reference supporting evidence. For example, if you think the possibilities for putting a tunnel (instead of another bridge) across the Montlake cut were not fully explored, you might cite tunnels built successfully in similar geographies elsewhere. 4. If you have credentials to bolster your credibility, provide them. For example, if you comment about road noise and you are sound engineer, say so. If you know what it’s like to live with the noise because you live beside the road, say so.5. Finally, be brief. If you submit more than a page, include a cover note or letter summarizing the points you support with details in your following pages.

Yes, making an effective comment is work. It’s also your chance to make a difference.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..